Well, Canal already has mock-historic streetcars, and St. Charles is protected by its National Register status. But on Riverfront and the new lines, prepaid boarding and modern rolling stock would be great.

At least the Loyola line will have real shelters at each stop, and IIRC, they will have the next-streetcar LED signs.

Also, there were designated stops with ticket machines and digital signs with estimated arrival times. It was very professional and the whole time I couldn't stop thinking about how Nola could use this. I wouldn't want to see it on Saint Charles per se, but any new line could definitely use it. Canal would also do well with the new modern way of running streetcars.

There was a great Young Leadership Council meeting about a year ago out at the RTA headquarters where they went over a lot of the recent and future upgrades to the whole system. Part of which that came about recently are the articulated buses on Broad...but part of it was also that Veolia / RTA was finally going to put GPS on everything and actually try to coordinate all the bits and pieces.

I believe he also mentioned an iPhone app that he hoped to have eventually. How cool would that be if the GPS fed into a map on your iPhone so you knew exactly where it was...cross your fingers.

Also, Arcdelia (?..can't remember the spelling)...I used to take the streetcar from uptown to downtown when i interned in college (so much cheaper than parking) and used it recently when my car was in the shop for a few days. It is pretty full if you get on it around 730am with all sorts of people. Not only hotel employees in uniform but a surprising number of people in suits / professional attire.

If you ever try to catch the streetcar at One Shell around 5pm...it's pretty hellish. Doable, but you may have to wait for the next one.

An iphone app would be awesome. I go to LSU and they have an online GPS system...it's pretty sweet to say the least. Definitely helps in the middle of August too when it sucks to wait 20 minutes while slowly becoming drenched in sweat.

And yeah, everytime I've been on the streetcar in the past 2 years or so it seems full of a lot of local downtown workers. The Canal line obviously has a more local ridership but especially on the weekends there are plenty of young locals waiting for the streetcar on Saint Charles or Carrollton esp. at Oak. I think it's in our general nature as New Orleanians to assume anyone who's not in a business suit or hotel uniform on a streetcar is a tourist but I tend to think a lot of the people riding are locals going for a day in the city.

Also, I second that around One Shell Square there are tons of business people waiting for the streetcar. Also, there's usually a ton of them waiting on Saint Charles right before Canal.

Phillis Wheatley Elementary School was just issued an RFP for its demolition. While I do like some Modernist buildings, I'm still on the fence about this one. What do y'all think about it?

I just hope that if they tear this building down it doesn't make it harder for any developer in the future to tear off the ugly Modernist facade of the Sanlin Building on Canal Street, exposing the Greek Revival facade underneath.

An iphone app would be awesome. I go to LSU and they have an online GPS system...it's pretty sweet to say the least. Definitely helps in the middle of August too when it sucks to wait 20 minutes while slowly becoming drenched in sweat.

And yeah, everytime I've been on the streetcar in the past 2 years or so it seems full of a lot of local downtown workers. The Canal line obviously has a more local ridership but especially on the weekends there are plenty of young locals waiting for the streetcar on Saint Charles or Carrollton esp. at Oak. I think it's in our general nature as New Orleanians to assume anyone who's not in a business suit or hotel uniform on a streetcar is a tourist but I tend to think a lot of the people riding are locals going for a day in the city.

Also, I second that around One Shell Square there are tons of business people waiting for the streetcar. Also, there's usually a ton of them waiting on Saint Charles right before Canal.

I agree about the assumption that its tourists when it often isnt. However, whats wrong with tourists using mass transit too. The point is people use it and thats all that matters.

Phillis Wheatley Elementary School was just issued an RFP for its demolition. While I do like some Modernist buildings, I'm still on the fence about this one. What do y'all think about it?

I just hope that if they tear this building down it doesn't make it harder for any developer in the future to tear off the ugly Modernist facade of the Sanlin Building on Canal Street, exposing the Greek Revival facade underneath.

Im cool with them tearing down the school, it hasnt aged well at all and sometimes black and white photographs make something look better than it actually does. As far as the Sanlin Building I hope they do remove the netting as I think the greek revival underneath will be more timeless than what is currently there not to mention the upper floors will be more lucrative having exposed views through the windows that are currently blocked by the altered facade.

Today, 6-8 p.m., at St. Paul Lutheran School, 2624 Burgundy St. The Regional Transit Authority will hold a meeting to discuss the planned line. Among issues to be discussed are widening the neutral ground so the streetcars would run in it, and extending the line past Press Street to Poland Avenue in lieu of a planned spur on Elysian Fields Avenue.

I'm glad they will be discussing taking it all the way to Poland instead of the Elysian Fields spur. I think an Elysian Fields like is needed... but I'd rather they hold off until they can build the complete line to the lake. More benefit with the St. Claude line from Canal to all the way to Poland first.

These old buildings are handsome, but not especially decorative or unique. If the tin facade was removed, these buildings would fade into the background. I'd almost rather the thing was torn down and replaced with something taller. Other low-scale buildings on Canal Street should be preserved, but this one just ain't that special.

Maybe I'd feel differently if the low-scale buildings were more efficiently used. Most of them have a store on the ground floor and emptiness above. It's easy to tell - just look for a door on Canal Street leading to a stairway. You'll see that almost none of them have access to the upper floors, except possibly a private stair somewhere in the back. I know the DDD was trying to encourage the re-use of these spaces, but it ain't gonna happen without some serious incentives.

These old buildings are handsome, but not especially decorative or unique. If the tin facade was removed, these buildings would fade into the background. I'd almost rather the thing was torn down and replaced with something taller. Other low-scale buildings on Canal Street should be preserved, but this one just ain't that special.

Maybe I'd feel differently if the low-scale buildings were more efficiently used. Most of them have a store on the ground floor and emptiness above. It's easy to tell - just look for a door on Canal Street leading to a stairway. You'll see that almost none of them have access to the upper floors, except possibly a private stair somewhere in the back. I know the DDD was trying to encourage the re-use of these spaces, but it ain't gonna happen without some serious incentives.

I do think there are creative ways to reuse the building as it currently looks or as it was built... the upper floors would just seem more desirable if there are views which is what makes me lean towards renovating to its original look.

Nice article on the re-opening of the Hyatt later this year. Looks like they will have a 24 hour "fresh market," a Starbuck's, several restaurants and bars, and a really nice ballroom. Definitely looking forward to this iconic building opening up in a new way. Apprently, they could have rebuilt it to pre-Katrina standards for 70 million but are investing 270 million!

An Apple should be apart of Canal street if they want to be in Orleans Parish (and please do!). Best Buy would maybe work, it would have to be a mini version with no warehouse storage facility meaning it would pretty much be a store front display store where large purchases were shipped in from another store, not worth the hefty price tag im sure. Gym and maybe condos are all I could see working at this building really in its current shape.

Side note: The lot across the street must be tremendously overpriced if there is this much interest in the borders property. The land owner should take the loss or develop something there! Such a great corner of this city should not be wasted! Heres looking at you filling station on Lee Circle! (the sales pending signs are gone, guess not...)

I could see another grocery store working. Some recent article about the Rouses mentioned that all grocery stores in the city were booming, so I could see another one working. It would be several for the area but not more than you'd see in Houston or some other large metro.

I'd like to see a Fresh Market in the city. There's already one in Covington.

As for the Apple Store - if they opened on Canal at all, it would be inside Canal Place. The streetfront spaces are still too sketchy - the closest thing to a national retailer is Payless Shoes.

Best Buy has opened several small stores recently - the one I know best is in the John Hancock Building in Chicago. They also have Best Buy Mobile stores now, which are about the size of a Radio Shack - too small for the Bultman building.

An Apple should be apart of Canal street if they want to be in Orleans Parish (and please do!). Best Buy would maybe work, it would have to be a mini version with no warehouse storage facility meaning it would pretty much be a store front display store where large purchases were shipped in from another store, not worth the hefty price tag im sure. Gym and maybe condos are all I could see working at this building really in its current shape.

Side note: The lot across the street must be tremendously overpriced if there is this much interest in the borders property. The land owner should take the loss or develop something there! Such a great corner of this city should not be wasted! Heres looking at you filling station on Lee Circle! (the sales pending signs are gone, guess not...)

I could see another grocery store working. Some recent article about the Rouses mentioned that all grocery stores in the city were booming, so I could see another one working. It would be several for the area but not more than you'd see in Houston or some other large metro.

The lot is finally being developed. A sign for Iberia Bank went up on Monday. A couple years ago First Bank and Trust had a sign up on the lot, so hopefully Iberia follows through and builds. Another bank is much better than that empty lot.

The lot is finally being developed. A sign for Iberia Bank went up on Monday. A couple years ago First Bank and Trust had a sign up on the lot, so hopefully Iberia follows through and builds. Another bank is much better than that empty lot.

Im sure Iberia will build there since they just acquired Omni Bank and neither has a location on St Charles so they will need it...

now if we could just get that gas station next door torn down all will be right in the world!

Im sure Iberia will build there since they just acquired Omni Bank and neither has a location on St Charles so they will need it...

now if we could just get that gas station next door torn down all will be right in the world!

Amazing. The whole city to talk about, and you're talking about my own block!

Here's another thing to ponder about this spot. If you drive around the block at St Charles and Louisiana, with the Rite Aid and Rallys on it, you'll realize that almost the entire center of the block is a giant abandoned parking lot. Just as bad, the mid-sized apartment building on the back corner (Carondelet and Delachaise) has been abandoned since Katrina, and I think some homeless people or crackheads or whatever go in there.

It's HUGE waste to have a hollowed out block in such a prime Uptown location! Somebody should really build a mid-density apartment building on Carondelet Street, tearing down Rally's in the process. Besides, Rallys aint what it used to be, haha.

Amazing. The whole city to talk about, and you're talking about my own block!

Here's another thing to ponder about this spot. If you drive around the block at St Charles and Louisiana, with the Rite Aid and Rallys on it, you'll realize that almost the entire center of the block is a giant abandoned parking lot. Just as bad, the mid-sized apartment building on the back corner (Carondelet and Delachaise) has been abandoned since Katrina, and I think some homeless people or crackheads or whatever go in there.

It's HUGE waste to have a hollowed out block in such a prime Uptown location! Somebody should really build a mid-density apartment building on Carondelet Street, tearing down Rally's in the process. Besides, Rallys aint what it used to be, haha.

Ill have to check out the other side of the block.. but yeah that Rallys isnt what it used to be. I remember when it used to be Checkers lol